Slim said, “Sir?”
“Yes, lad.”
The youngster took a long time in getting on with it. He said, “Red sent me in for something good to eat, but I don’t exactly know what he meant. I didn’t like to say so.”
“Why, just ask cook. She’ll have something good for young’uns to eat.”
“Oh, no, sir. I mean for animals.”
“For animals?”
“Yes, sir. What do animals eat?”
The Astronomer said, “I am afraid my son is city-bred.”
“Well,” said the Industrialist, “there’s no harm in that. What kind of an animal, lad?”
“A small one, sir.”